DAY 7: DUBROVNIK

This was months ago, but I’m still sad to be writing about the final day! I would 100 percent go back and do this whole thing again in a milisecond. If anyone is going back/has been, please send me your blogs/pictures, I would love to reminisce/learn about what other cool stuff people get up to whilst they’re out there and get some ideas for our next adventure in Croatia!

Still, it’s not quite over yet, day 7 was our last proper day (day 8 we just returned the car and flew home sadly) and so we were a bit knackered, but all round excited to be in Dubrovnik. Everyone had said to us that Dubrovnik is a fantastic place, and it really is. It’s steeped in history, full to the brim with culture and there’s a million things happening, which in contrast to Plitvice was a bit like being in London after being in the Scottish Highlands. The only downside to this, was that we were a bit overwhelmed by the amount of people.

I mean, sure we’re used to there being a lot of people in our every day lives, but it just wasn’t something we’d experienced out there, so we did find ourselves trying to find places a little more secluded. We didn’t always do to well at it though!

According to friends, trip advisor and blogs, walking the city walls is an absolute must do, so despite the price tag we went for it (It was roughly £10 if I can remember right, whereas other museums and experiences had cost us roughly £1.50 around the rest of the country). I’m glad we did, as I would have regretted it otherwise. We probably spent about an hour walking round, because goodness me, it’s long. There are lots of little towers and alcoves to explore, and things to look at, including buildings destroyed in the war that have been left to show what happened, and strangely shaped basketball courts built to fit in with the rest of the historic city (it’s all a bit crammed in there!). Our favourite moment, however, was fulfilled by a group of Americans loudly discussing the amount of cats there are in the city. I mean, there are a lot. Like, everywhere. If you don’t like cats Dubrovnik might not be the place for you.

But a lady proclaiming ‘IT’S A KITTY HAVEN’ was a bit too much for us to handle in a queue and the heat, and we both absolutely cracked up laughing. I can’t think of Dubrovnik without hearing her voice now.

Oh also whilst in that queue to get round (they’re quite busy walls), we saw one of the little bars that you often see on pinterest and tumblr and the like, one that was hanging off the edge of a cliff. And it looked super cool, so we decided to head there, in between giggles.

You know what, it’s not really worth the visit. Sorry. It’s a nice idea, but due to safety there are nets and bars up, which means you can’t really see much, and it’s really busy, and expensive. Props to whoever came up with the idea, but if you’re on the lookout for a cool bar there are lots of other places in Dubrovnik, and if in life you’re looking for one, then the Cova d’en Xoroi Night Club in Menorca is the place for you.

Nonetheless, with our thirst somewhat quenched, Hamilton the human sat nav (seriously, I’ve never met anyone that can find their way as well, I’d probably still be in an alley somewhere if it wasn’t for him), lead me out of the maze and we went to Fort Lovrijenac, partially because it’s where we had overlooked whilst having dinner the night before, but also because entrance comes with the ticket you buy for the city walls.

Like pretty much everywhere in Croatia, it’s up a million steps. We almost gave up. Genuinely. But we pushed on and unsurprisingly due to the hike, were two of only about 15 people in the whole thing. There isn’t much there, we mostly found people reenacting scenes from Game of Thrones (Just saying lines and stuff, none of the saucy bits thankfully) and random desks (there were 3 or 4 very modern desks just kind of around. I’m unsure why.)

We then walked around a bit more, got some food at a place recommended by our host (I think it was called Mimoza’s) which was just outside the city walls, and down some steps that look a bit odd, but once you get into the place it’s lovely – beautifully decorated, good prices and friendly service. It’s a bit of the outside in, so lovely no matter what the weather.

So… Yeh. That was the end of our trip.

Dubrovnik was a fab place to end it, but in all honesty, I wouldn’t say Dubrovnik was my favourite place. It is beautiful, and in the same vain as Split, like walking through the past. But, that does come at a price and at the end of a trip, we didn’t necessarily have the money to afford that! Split is very similar, though obviously doesn’t have the same street cred that Game of Thrones filming gets you. (They do GoT tours by the way, I personally didn’t go on one seeing as I probably wouldn’t have had a clue what they were talking about, but they seemed popular.)

Don’t get me wrong, you can get quiet moments and everything you can get in Split – at the end of the last night we found ourselves sitting at the edge of the harbour, with our feet dangling off the edge watching the boats bob about and I wouldn’t swap that moment for anything. Every single place was different, and came with it’s own positives and negatives. My main advice would be go to all of the places we visited, and more: we went to Zagreb, Plitvice Lakes, Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik, but we didn’t make it to Zadar or Krka, both of which I’ve heard great things about – there’s way more to explore than we managed.

Croatia is quickly becoming the next place to be, and if you don’t get in there quick, I can’t help but wonder if it will lose some of it’s appeal.

Nevertheless, our experience was fantastic and remarkable, much more than I ever expected. Mostly because I had no idea what to expect.

Zagreb is still my favourite place, just because I feel like I could live there, but I would happily drive down to Plitvice for a weekend and hike to my hearts content, and go to the beach on the Dalmation coast when it’s warm. Falling over in the street and seeing a dead rat in Split was probably my least favourite bit, but really, that could be a lot worse. At least we got a laugh out of it.

We returned our little Skoda the very next day, and got money back on our petrol because we’d put more in than we were first given and of course because Croatians are fantastic people. Then we had a safe flight home, and many months later still think about it.